Former Niger State Governor, Dr. Muazu Babangida Aliyu, has revealed how he chased the dreaded Boko Haram leaders, Abubakar Shekau and Abu Qaqa, out of Niger State during his first term as governor of the state, saying that they would have made the state their headquarters.
He said that part of the solution to the security challenges bedevilling Nigeria, like terrorism and banditry, is proper planning and budgeting that will eradicate the negative statistics of 20 million out of school children and change the story of Nigeria from being rated as the global poverty capital.
Dr Aliyu stated this in Kaduna State at the weekend when he appeared as the guest speaker of the 2023 annual public lecture, awards and election organised by the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), Kaduna chapter.
The former governor said, “The primary purpose of government is the security of lives and property of her citizens, which most state governors don’t take seriously. As Chief Security Officer of your state, you cannot claim inability to secure your citizens. Yes, the officers of the security agencies might not have come from your state, they are federal officers posted to assist you in your state.
“Being proactive as leader and followers also helps so much. When I arrived Niger State, I found a security challenge in the form of nine people who went to a village in Mokwa Local Government, who had multiplied in 2007 to 7,000 people and were involved in armed robbery and abducting women in the area. They constituted themselves into a republic.
“I also discovered that many governors have tried to do something but were probably frustrated by Abuja. In fact, two immigration officers sent to investigate the activities in the group became members. When I took census, I discovered that more than 60% of the members were not Nigerians. The original Shekau and Abu Qaga were the leaders. I got the support of the Late President Musa Yar’adua to disperse them after compensating them and provided them transport to their destination in Nigeria and the foreigners were taken to their borders.
“That action probably saved Niger State from being the foundation of Boko Haram. As we come to know, they were regularly visiting the River Niger bridge. That the Federal Government would support any governor who has done his homework is not in doubt,” he said.
Proffering solutions, Aliyu highlighted the importance of proper planning and budgeting, saying, “Our planning must be people centred and our budget must be treated as the law that it is.
“If the planning is proper, we cannot be talking of 20 million children out of school. We cannot be described as the poverty capital of the world. We also cannot be facing the insecurity of banditry, Boko Haram, and armed robbery.
“With proper planning we cannot have the level of corruption we have today. Many a times, we boast of our abundant human capital, natural resources and rich cultural heritage. Unless we operationalize, we shall remain at this level of boasting. Operationalizing them shall give us the opportunity to invest in education, especially girl-child education, to prioritise investment in healthcare infrastructure.
“We also need to go back to the basics of enhancing craft and vocational education, while promoting entrepreneurship right from secondary school. The need for a review of our curriculum from elementary to tertiary education cannot be over-emphasized because we have to be in tandem with what we need now and in the future,” he said.
Earlier at the event, the Kaduna State Chapter Chairman of NIPR, Haroun Malami, spoke on the theme of the lecture; ‘Demographic Transition, Ethical Resource, Sustainable Development: Reflections on Northern Nigeria’.
He said, study has shown Nigeria’s population increased from 186.1 million to 201.1 million between 2016 and 2019, indicating an increase of 8% by additional 15.9 million new populations in four years, with the northern region accounting for 68.67% of the new population.
“What this means is that for every 10 new children born in Nigeria between 2016 2019, seven were from northern states,” he said.
Malami however said that, it is imperative the country takes ownership of the narrative to create a strong, future-proof society for its youthful population, adding that, “central to sustainable development is efficient and effective resource management which encapsulates economic, social, and environmental components and requires society to pursue a growth path that generates an optimal flow of income built on the twin principles of justice and equity.”